


What Lies Behind The Mask

by starwolf626



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 17:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30092376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starwolf626/pseuds/starwolf626
Summary: Allister wasn't sure what he thinking. He didn't know what to say. And staring at the older boy through the bars of that jail cell made him think. Quietly but surely, he asked the question that's been scratching to get out..."We... We can be friends, right?"
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	What Lies Behind The Mask

There are two specific things Allister noticed the moment he set his eyes on Alejandro.

First off, the older boy stayed bent forward. His hands are intertwined together, fidgeting every now and then. His eyes are locked away from Allister's gaze, guarded by the red lensed mask he wore. His head is tilted down, letting the gym leader know that he wasn't actually looking at him. Though, if he had to guess, Alejandro probably already knew who was there with him.

And secondly, Allister's little heart started beating quite quickly. And, yeah, he definitely had to force himself to breathe properly. He tugged at the collar of his uniform. Not that it did much good. Anxiety, man. It's not fun.

He didn't know where to start.

'Hi might be the best option.' The boy thought to himself.

He knew that and opened his mouth to say it, but no words came out. It was deafeningly quiet in the room which was, by any standards, the saddest place he had ever been in. A small room that barely had enough space to fit three people, an old cot by the wall, and the only way in was closed off by a barrier of steel bars. Definitely not stylish enough for the infamous Copper siblings, leaders of the Ruffian gang.

"There's no one here."

Allister snapped his attention back to the other side of the bars where Alejandro was still sitting eerily unmoved, "The head guard said I'd be no harm to you, so there was no need to watch over me."

If the gym leader was gasping for air before, then every last breath had been released from his chest now, "H-How… How does he know that?"

After a few moments of silence that felt like an eternity, Alejandro finally tilted his head up to give Allister the attention he needed, "I told him you were safe with me."

"And he believed you after-"

"It took a lot of convincing, and maybe a bit of scaring," Alejandro chuckled a little in amusement before his frown returned, "Plus, you're a gym leader. What the fuck could I do to you?"

"Besides sweeping my team with your Gengar and assaulting me with your fists?" It meant to be a joke, but Allister didn't find himself laughing and Alejandro wouldn't dare break his well-made facade enough to give him the satisfaction of any real emotion, "Okay, w-well-"

"Did you come here to crack jokes, gym leader?"

Allister could feel the aggravation and bitterness that was said in something close to a snarl behind the title and he hated it. He hated the guilt that he was somehow to blame for Alejandro and his sister being locked up, which hardly made any sense at all. They're the ones who got themselves put in a jail cell. They're the ones who decided they wanted to hurt Galar with their chaos and cruelty.

And what the hell was so fair about blaming himself for that? From the moment Allister met Alejandro, he had been the main victim of his bitter cruelty. He had been beaten so easily. He had been ridiculed and called terrible things. He had been compared to his older sister, Bea. And worst of all… He had been mocked for his parents' deaths. Something he had no control over whatsoever.

None of that was his fault.

So, why did he feel so damn guilty?

"I-I… I have a few questions." Allister stammered in his usual fashion, bright violet eyes staring through his own mask at the opposing male.

Alejandro grunted in disapproval but allowed it, "Shoot."

Allister set his vision fully on Alejandro's face, whose eyes are glued to Allister despite the mask he wore. A small part of Allister wanted to know what kind of thoughts were running through the Ruffian's mind. Whether he's surprised by the random visit or if he's frustrated by him. Or if he's plotting some type of revenge.

The other part is too afraid to truly know his feelings toward him.

"Why me?"

Alejandro leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, his lip twitching slightly, "Why you?"

"What did I do that made you hate me so much in particular? I've seen you interact with the others. You simply scare them to protect your friends. So, why? Why do you show me so much hate?" Just as he stopped, Alejandro opened his mouth to respond. However, Allister wasn't done, "Am I just easy to hate? Because my sister hates yours, you had to hate me too, right? Or perhaps behind the mask, I'm just a hideous privileged creature?"

Alejandro calmly raised a hand to silence the gym leader and Allister believed it was the first time he was able to breathe since he came to the jail cell, "Just the opposite. It's not what you did to make me hate you. I'm just a villain in this story. Though hideous is the farthest thing from what you are."

"Do you seriously hate me just to hate me?"

Usually, the bad guy would grin, mimicking the taunting of a Gengar. Evelyn certainly would have if it were her and Bea having this conversation. But, Alejandro's lips stayed twisted downwards, a blank yet bitter frown.

"You could say that." He shook his head as if trying to dismantle some kind of thought he didn't want, "Why the hell do you want to know?" The response made Allister narrow his eyes, an action quite rare from the Ghost-type trainer.

"Because I don't believe that's the case. There's some reasoning behind why you and your sister hate me and Bea," He was very unsure of the type of reaction the other boy would give her. More so when Alejandro tilted his head and shoulders back.

"Well, that's certainly a snap judgement."

Allister just gave him a nod of agreement, "In my line of work, I have to make several of those."

"Right, I forgot…" Alejandro spoke sarcastically. Allister knew he rolled his underneath that mask, "Next question."

It was now Allister's turn to give attention to the concrete floor and he was stricken with a slight fear. Would Alejandro even answer the next one? It was definitely more personal than the last one. However, there wasn't enough fear to halt him from pressing on, "Is there a chance we could… Ever be friends?"

Alejandro's body tensed and it turned frighteningly quiet on his side of the room. So much so that Allister lifted his gaze up just to make sure he still had the other boy's attention. Evidently he did because Alejandro didn't tilt his head away from the gym leader.

"Well?" Allister chose the word carefully but Alejandro only gruffed.

"I hate you, remember? Of course we can't be friends. Ever." It was a lie and an obvious one at that. Alejandro fidgeted at each word and momentarily glanced over to another space in the room. The same behavior he gave off when he tried to convince Allister as to why he wore his mask, "What did you honestly expect?"

"The truth, Alejandro. I expected the truth. Because that's definitely not it. Did you mean what you said when you answered my question that night?" There was something about Alejandro's frown that made Allister's heart race.

"I don't know what good telling you the truth would've done. You already hated my guts."

"I never hated you." Allister corrected. The room went silent again. For a moment, Alejandro's frown twisted into what Allister could only describe as a surprise expression. But it soon returned back to that stern, broken frown, "I don't think you're evil either. Despite what you accuse me of. I'm just," He paused, trying to find the right words, "Fascinated by you."

"Fascinated, eh?" Alejandro let out a small chuckle full of a bitter, self-righteous emotion, "Mind asking me what made you so fascinated by me, of all people?"

"Answer my question first."

At first, Alejandro stayed silent. His body was still and never so much as twitched once. It was an eerie sight to say the least. Allister was a Ghost-type trainer but even he was unsettled by Alejandro's unnatural stillness. Finally, Alejandro shrugged, "Okay, fine. Maybe we could've been friends." The response made Allister tilt his head.

"Why?"

"You seriously need a reason for that?"

"It's why I came here."

"Well, I guess we're similar in a few ways." Alejandro sighed, as if not wanting to have this conversation. "We both wear masks, we both seem to like the color purple. We both have Gengars too. Seems like a good way to start a friendship off of, yeah?"

"Maybe you're right, but you said something-"

"I say a lot of things. It's not like I'm worth listening to."

"You said that I'll never understand you. That we're simply too different." Allister continued, ignoring the interruption. "Does that mean that if we weren't different, we could be friends?"

"I suppose it's a possibility." Alejandro gruffed a little, shrugging his shoulder.

"Is that why you try so hard to hate me?" Allister knew he struck a nerve when Alejandro's expression twisted into a bitter snarl. But just like his sister would have, Allister refused to back down.

"Why do you keep saying that? I don't try to-"

"When you had beaten me, you said something about your grandfather," He noticed the way Alejandro flinched at the word, "That he's the reason for your mask. As if I was to blame for that. Was that not simply just hating me?"

"No, that was aggravation. Much like this conversation is making me feel."

"But it could have easily been misunderstood as that. Right?" He bit his lip. He was nervous and rightfully so. Alejandro, on the other hand, just frowned bitterly.

"You… You have this... Fuck, there's something about you that hits close to home. It's something that reminds me of everything I could've been. That's why I hate you. You make me want. And I never want anything." Allister felt the glare Alejandro suddenly gave him. "And I bet you must find that amusing considering I'm the one behind bars."

"You would lose that bet." The response made Alejandro raise an eyebrow.

"Good to know."

"Is that so?" Allister gave him a questioning head tilt, which was returned with a small nod.

"I hate admitting it, but I liked talking to you when you approached me during community service. You were fun to chat with. Mainly because it felt real. I've met tons of kids and they were all so robotic. That or selfish. Eh, but what room do I have to talk? You always had this way of keeping me interested."

"You mean… You didn't truly hate me then?"

Alejandro sighed and winced as if Allister had flicked him, "No, I… I didn't. I wanted to but I couldn't bring myself to. You… Just seemed genuine. And… Part of me wanted to rethink our views on you gym leaders. All because of you." The tone in Alejandro's voice was depressed as well as bitter and angry.

It took Allister a minute to process that. Really, really process that. He could have had the power to persuade one of the villains of Galar to change his views. He winced at the term. He didn't see Alejandro as a villain. Just a boy who lost his way, much like the other Ruffians. He could've helped him.

And didn't even know it.

"It also might be worth noting that I never originally intended to hurt you. I was just so confused with anger and hatred towards you."

"R-Really? Even after you stated the reason you hated me was because I was born?"

"I needed to get a point across. I wanted to scare you away. You didn't need to know my secrets." He gritted his teeth slightly, "That's good enough for a friendship, right?"

"A screwed up one, yes. Maybe you'll be comfortable around me to-" Allister suddenly paused and mentally growled at himself, 'No. Don't you dare. There's a line and you almost have a foot across it.'

Alejandro tilted his head and Allister mentally slapped himself. He tried to think of something else to cover it up, but Alejandro took control of the conversation.

"Now my question. I've fascinated you?"

"And you continue to do so." Allister twiddled his thumbs a little, "For starters, you always seem so cold and bitter towards others. Your hate for the privileged is very evident, even though I think it's because you were influenced by family sources such as your sister," As soon as he mentioned the older boy's sister, Alejandro developed a spiteful look, "Let me finish. Whatever has happened to you… I'm sorry. I know that doesn't change anything but truly, I am sorry. But answer me this; Was there ever a moment between us where I gave you the impression that I wanted to hurt you in any way? Or did I ever seem like I felt I was superior to you?"

Alejandro just stared at him, his lips twisted downward. His fingers twitched and Allister somehow knew that meant he was thinking it over. Maybe even changing his opinion on a few things, "I would like to say yes just so I don't have to admit I'm wrong but karma's being a bitch to me so that's not the case. You were…" He grumbled in disappointment at himself, "Mimikyu-tely friendly."

Even Allister couldn't stop himself from cracking a smile at the ghastly pun.

"And don't take this the wrong way, but your sister just isn't my cup of tea when it comes to hatred. That's why I left her to Evelyn. But you're a humble and shy spirit. I can tell."

"I have to agree. I love my sister more than anything," It didn't go unnoticed when Alejandro grimaced at the comment, but he chose to push it to the side for the time being, "But she can be a bit headstrong, as all Fighting type gym leaders can be. Though, she's a genuinely kind person."

"I'm not saying she isn't. What I'm trying to get at is that you have gentleness."

"And yet you basically damned my soul?"

"That's due to the fact that I just hate people. Plus, you wouldn't stop talking to me."

"Well, I couldn't help it. I like to study the interesting." Allister shyly chuckled and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Alejandro smirk ever so slightly.

"Oh, I'm interesting now, am I?" He chuckled a little out of amusement

Arceus, help this little bean. Allister was blushing. He could feel it. And he was sure it was the same matching red as the color plastered on Alejandro's face. But he played it off more easily. Allister trying not to stutter or say something too far.

The moment was over all too fast.

"I suppose it's time you go now, angel." Alejandro spoke to which Allister had to agree. Visiting hour was almost over.

"I know…" He suddenly paused. "Wait. Did you just call me-"

"Angel?" Alejandro finished for him. "Yes, of course. Why? Is it a problem?" He's teasing, Allister knew he was. Somehow, this older boy just saw right through him and knew his weaknesses.

"W-Well, no but…" He huffed a little and changed the subject to something a little less flustering. "I figured you'd be more thrilled to hear this. You get to leave this place tomorrow."

"Yeah, to be stuck serving bitchy customers in 90 degree heat. Customer service, the worst type of punishment." Alejandro's little gruff made Allister giggle softly.

"That's the spirit," He spoke, trying to sound hopeful and genuine, hoping it would brighten up Alejandro's mood. And momentarily it did. Until he let out a sigh.

"What is it?"

"Uh… Fuck, I don't know how to say this." Alejandro cleared his throat, "Am I going to have to worry about you randomly visiting me often now or…?"

Allister thought it over. Obviously, it was a rude comment that clearly meant to sound as if he preferred to be alone. On one hand, Allister was shy and Alejandro, honest to Arceus, just wanted to be left alone. On the other, both he and Allister were desperate to have these conversations. A third option would be they want more company than their sisters all of the time. Either way, Allister smiled.

"As long as I'm welcome."

A playful smirk crossed Alejandro's lips.

"I could be convinced, angel."


End file.
